Virandeep Singh made 98 and took three, and Malaysia still might not reach the semi-finals
Malaysia beat Bahrain by 126 runs at the Bayuemas Oval on Monday and finished their ACC Men’s Premier Cup group. Whether that gets them a semi-final is now up to Nepal.
Sep 7, 2026
Virandeep Singh got to 98 and then got out, which is the sort of thing that stays with a player. What he did with the ball afterwards probably matters more. Malaysia beat Bahrain by 126 runs at the Bayuemas Oval on Monday, Virandeep took 3 for 25 to go with the 98, and Malaysia’s group is now finished. Whether they play a semi-final on Thursday is up to Nepal.
Two short, and then ten overs for 25
Malaysia batted first and made 254 for 8. Virandeep faced 118 balls for his 98 and was caught off Imran Anwar with the innings nearly done. Syed Aziz, the captain, made 31 from 51 at the top, and Sharvin Muniandy’s 34 off 32 late on was the only other innings that moved at any pace.
Bahrain started their chase well enough. Muhammad Wasim and Prashant Kurup put on 48 for the first wicket and Bahrain were three down at 77 in the 21st over. Then Virandeep came on and bowled ten overs for 25 with two maidens and three wickets, Aqeel Wahid finished with 4 for 32, and Bahrain lost their last eight wickets for 58. They were all out for 128 in the 38th.
Malaysia are done and Hong Kong are not
Group A has one match left: Hong Kong against Nepal on Tuesday. Nepal have won all three of theirs and are top with six points. Malaysia have played four and have four points. Hong Kong have played three and have four points.
Two teams go through. So Hong Kong only have to avoid losing. A win takes them to six, and even a tie or a washout puts them a point clear of Malaysia. Malaysia need Nepal to win, and they need Nepal to win without Hong Kong getting close enough to overhaul them on net run rate, which is currently the only thing keeping Malaysia ahead in the table.
Hong Kong have already done Malaysia one favour they will not thank them for. The two met on Saturday, tied on 209 apiece, and Hong Kong won the Super Over. Two points there and Malaysia would be through already.
Qatar are in the same position in Group B
The other Monday game left a mirror image. Kuwait were bowled out for 233 at Bangi with one ball of their innings unused, Ali Zaheer making 47 from 76 and Nimish Lathief 47 not out from 38 at the end of it. Qatar knocked the runs off in 35.5 overs, fifties from Imal Liyanage and Zubair Ali doing most of it, and won by four wickets with 85 balls to spare.
That gave Qatar four points from four games and ended their group as well. Kuwait also finished on four. UAE have won all three of theirs and play Oman on Tuesday in the last Group B match, and Oman are on four points from three. If Oman win, or lose narrowly enough, Oman go through and Qatar and Kuwait are out.
Ten teams came to Malaysia for this and one of them leaves with a place at the 2027 Asia Cup. The semi-finals are on Thursday, group winner against the other group’s runner-up, and the final is on Saturday. Everything else is a plane home.